The Worth Of Michelangelo
by Livi-Love
Summary: Four years old, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael are sick of their younger brother and they try to get rid of him. Master Splinter decides to help them in doing so, teaching his sons a valuable lesson.
1. Disposal

**This is when the turtles were little four year olds. Which means their pronunciation is sort of bad, and Leonardo pronounces 'w' 'v' for some reason. Just so you know my spelling and such aren't that bad. I don't own the Turtles and whatever. x)  
**

* * *

Splinter was meditating in his room when a strange sound alerted him of someone else's presence. He snapped out of his trance and opened one eye cautiously. There wasn't any movement in the room, which implied that the source of the noise was outside. Splinter rose to his feet, making his way to his door before opening it quietly and checking what was happening.

Three of his sons- Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello- were dragging their youngest brother across the carpeted floor. Their hands were tightly clenched around the edge of a fraying mat, on which Michelangelo was lying upon, fast asleep. Splinter didn't move from where he was standing, curious to see what his four year old sons were doing. When they had reached the door to the lair, Splinter decided to go see what they were up to. "My sons," Splinter approached them. They jumped, letting go of the mat as if they thought he hadn't seen what they were doing, thinking that they could hide their previous actions and pretend they hadn't been up to anything naughty. Michelangelo remained where he was, the fall not having woken him up. "What are you doing with your brother?"

"Nothin'…" Leo smiled, showing the gap in his teeth, which made him sound as though he had a larger speaking impediment than he and his brother's usually had. "Ve… ve vos jus' playin'."

"But Leo, I thought we was takin' Mikey back to the sewers where daddy found him," Raph said. Leo and Don looked at each other, rolling their eyes at their brother's stupidity.

"Wait to go," groaned Donnie, "Now daddy knows what we're doin'."

Splinter motioned for his sons to come closer, holding his arms out in their direction. They edged towards him, Leo taking up the front protectively. Splinter smiled, before wrapping his arms around their small bodies and embracing them tightly. "Tell me, why would you want to take your brother back to where I found him?"

"He's… He's pointless!" Don burst out, Leo and Raph nodding in agreement.

"Why is he pointless?" Splinter asked them, looking from child to child.

"You know Sensei…" Leo said, pausing in case Splinter wanted to answer. When their father remained silent, Leo continued, "All he does is be lazy, Master. He doesn' listen to ya ven you talk, and he plays loud music ven I'm readin'."

"And he's always breaks my toys," Don pressed on, "And ya know that scoo driver ya got me? He flushed it down…" Don tugged at his master's robe, bringing the rat's head closer to his level. Don cupped his three fingered hands around his mouth and whispered loudly, "The toilet, Master."

"And he talks all the time," Raph said, "He goes blah blah blah about stupid stuff and he keeps callin' me fat and ugly and smelly."

Splinter nodded, taking in his sons' comments. Then, he gently removed his arms and stood up. "Do you really wish to get rid of Michelangelo that much?"

"Yeah!" the trio half shouted.

"Very well," Splinter gathered Mikey in his arms, letting the child rest his head against his chest. Michelangelo looked like an angel when he was asleep, and a lot more innocent than he actually was when he was awake. Splinter jerked his head, and the three young turtles followed him out of the lair and into the dark, cold sewers. After a few paces, Splinter raised his eyebrows at his students, "It is very cold, isn't it? And it is dreadfully dark as well. Do you think Michelangelo will like it here?"

"Nah," Don shook his head, "Michaelangee is scared of the dark. And he won't like the cold 'cos he's a turtle. I read it in a book, daddy."

"I see," they walked a little further when Splinter stopped once more, "Do you think Michelangelo will have anything to eat when he gets there?"

"He thon't find anythin' much," Leo shrugged, "Me and you spend ages lookin' for food and sometime it takes months. Mikey won't find anythin', so he'll probabbie starve."

"Very well," Splinter didn't say anything for a while as they continued their journey, their footsteps keeping the silence away. Soon, they arrived at a spot next to some sewer water. Splinter lay Mikey on the ground carefully, "There, now let's return home."

The four of them headed home. The journey seemed a lot longer than before, and the three turtles found themselves bored of walking. Don wrapped his arms around his stomach, groaning, "I'm hungry, master."

"I did not bring any food," Splinter told him sadly.

"Mikey always has food stashed up his shell so maybe…" Don stopped, before sighing, "Oh yeah, we got rid of Michelangee, didn't we?"

"Indeed we did, Donatello, just as you and your brothers requested. Now come, it will be your nap time when we return home."

"But nap time's stup-ed," whined Leo, who hated lying down and not doing anything. His master had hundreds of things to teach them, and Leo loved getting the answers right in their lessons and looking good so much that he found nap time pointless. "Mikey always makes it fun vith his scary store-hes and his silly jokes… But he's gone now, isn't he Sensei?"

"Yes he is," Splinter said, "But if it really bothers you that much, Leonardo, then we can do something else when we get home. How about we play a game when we return? What do you three suggest we do when we get home?"

"We could…" Raph scratched his chin thoughtfully, "I dunno, Master Spintah. Mike always comes up with fun games to play, like pin the tail on the Sensei and Turtle tag. I forgeted the rules and only Mikey knowed how to play them funly. But we made Mikeylow go away." The three turtles looked at each other, realizing the mistake they had made and what they were missing out on now that Mikey was gone. After a silent conversation with themselves, the trio stopped walking and looked at their master.

"Sensei, I think ve need Michanglow," Leo said to his father, "Even though he's lazy and annoyin' and stuff, he's funneh and he knows how to make us happy ven ve are sad."

"Yeah," Donatello nodded in agreement, "He's our brother and we love him and we want him back so can we go find him?"

Splinter sighed, masking his face with a reluctant expression, "If you insist, my sons, we will go back and retrieve him."

It took less than a minute to reach where they had left Michelangelo. Splinter picked him up off the ground and put the turtle under his robe. Thankfully, he had no grown very cold while they were gone, but Splinter wanted to have his youngest son close to him. The very thought of any of them going away forever made a chill run down his spine. Mikey's brothers each took a turn to pat Mikey on the head and apologize (with Raph kissing him on the head as he did so), before heading back to the lair, which they could see from where they were standing. Leo and Don sped ahead, arguing with each other about what was better- Teletubbies or Thomas the Tank Engine. Master Splinter felt a slight tug on his robe, and looked down at Raphael.

"Master Spintah…" Raph blinked up at him, "Can we get rid of Leo instead?"

Splinter laughed, "Why would you want to do that, Raphael?"

"Because he's always tellin' me what to do and he's borin'. Though Don does make fun of me when I don't know somethin', so maybe we could get rid of him too?"

"We'll see," Splinter patted him on the shoulder, smiling faintly, "We'll see."


	2. Rescue

"Ya know," Don said as Leo and Raph leant against him. Their favourite television show (The Justice Force) was on, but they were paying little attention to it. They were sitting on their sofa, squashed up against one another. Don looked at his fingers, his brow furrowed slightly, "I'm glad we didn' get rid of Michaelangee and all, but don' ya it's a lickle… odd?"

"Vot's odd?" Leonardo asked him, putting his finger in his mouth so he could feel the gap between his teeth. He had been the first of his brothers to lose a tooth, as he reminded them so many times with his hand gesture.

"We didn' take long to get to where daddy left Mikey," Don replied, chewing on a loose bit of skin below his mouth, "But when we was goin' home it took ages, we changed our mind and it only took a little time."

"Oh yeah…" Raph narrowed his eyes, "Maybe Master Spintah got lost on the way back and membered where our home was later?"

"Maybe…" Don shrugged, though he secretly thought that Master Splinter had done this so they would change their minds. Of course, their sensei loved all his sons, and wouldn't want to get rid of any of them. So… had Splinter done this to teach them a lesson?

"Look," Raph slipped off the sofa, "We go find the place. Then we can see how hard it was to get there. If we can find it, then Master Spintah can."

"Yeah," Don said excitedly, "I 'ill get my ruler and we can mes-eh the distants." He rushed to their toy toolbox, and got out a plastic ruler. Raph snatched it out of his hands, looking at it with a puzzled expression. Don took it back, "I hold it. I know how they work, and you don't."

"You tell me how it works and I will use it," Raph said, trying to take it off him again. He managed to get hold of one end, and the two turtles began pulling on it, like they were playing tug of war. The plastic ruler shot out of their hands and sailed through the air. Leo caught it, and put it behind his back.

"Ve are not goin' anywhere," Leo told him, a superior look on his young face, "Ve aren' allowed to, Sensei says. Ve're too small and if ve go ve'll get in trouble."

"Okay," said Raph, "We'll go without ya. And when we prove Master that we is clever, he'll be proud of us and not ya." Raph and Don winked at each other, heading towards the door that led to the sewers outside of the lair. Don grinned. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

"Vait!" Leo ran after them. He caught up with the stationary turtles, and put his arms around them, "I think I should come too. Just to make sure ya don' do anythin' stupid." Raph and Don exchanged smug smiles, and the three turtles left their home and entered the dark sewers, where their father refused to let them unsupervised.

"Hey Leo," Raph pointed to the end of the tunnel, "Bet I can get there before ya."

Leo looked to see where Raphael was pointing to. He was motioning towards a brick wall at the end of a passageway that branched off the tunnel in which they were standing in, which had various pipes sticking out of it at angles. The pipes were a grimy brown colour, and some were curved at the ends of them. The pipes stretched upwards, zigzagging up the wall for miles, and it continued for so long that the young turtles were not able to see where they finished. Raph ran up to the wall and grabbed hold of one that was at their level, and hoisted himself onto it. The pipe creaked slightly, but it didn't move noticeably. Leo and Don watched him, eying the pipes nervously.

"Are ya both gonna join me or not?" Raph asked, crossing his arms. He was perched on the end of the rusty pipe, kicking his legs gently. "Or are ya both babies?"

"Ve ain't no babies," Leonardo replied, taking hold of another pipe and pulling himself onto it. Don followed him up, gulping. This was dangerous, and judging by the look on Leo's face, he thought so too. Leo turned to Raph, "There, ve did it. Now, can ve go find that place and see-"

"I bet I can get to the top," Raph remarked, reaching towards a pipe that was slightly higher than the one he was situated on and climbing onto that one. Splinter had begun to teach them how to climb, and Raph decided that by having one lesson, he was fully able to climb up walls. Ignoring his brothers' pleas to go find the clearing, Raphael ascended upwards at a steady pace.

"Raphie! Come down!" shouted Don, wobbling slightly. He cupped one of his hands to his mouth, his other holding on tightly to the pipe he was sitting on, "Come on! What if ya fall and go splat and stuff?"

"If ya fall I'm gonna tell Sensei!" yelled Leo, "And if ya go higher I'm gonna tell him. And I'm gonna… gonna…"

"Tell Master Spintah then," growled Raph, "Go tell ya preckus daddy on me, see if I care! Ya just a… stupid doo doo head." He tossed his head back, and scrambled up the pipes at a quicker pace.

"We're gonna have ta go get him, aren' we?" Don sighed. Leo answered with a nod, and the two turtles made their way towards their red masked brother.

TMNTNMT

"DIE DIE DIE!" Michelangelo laughed, hitting his rubber duck with his Stainless Steel Steve action figure. He shook the rubber duck and said in a high pitched voice, "Ya never get me, stainee seel seve." Mikey grinned madly, throwing the duck at the wall. He sprang to his feet and began dancing. He kissed his action figure, before holding up the toy in victory, "Justy fork saves the day once agen!" He glanced at where he had left his other action figures, only to find that they were no longer there.

"Huh?" he yelped, rubbing his eyes. He had left them there- he was sure he had! Mikey ran out of his room, in case he had left them in the living room. But, to his dismay, they weren't in sight. Mikey toddled over to the toy box, and began throwing its contents out. "'Oey Lassie? Dotter Doomer?" He stopped, realizing they weren't in there. That meant only one thing to Mikey- one of his brothers had stolen his awesome toys because they were jealous. Mikey rested his hand on his chin, trying to figure out who had done it. Leonardo had given him the Doctor Dome toy last year, and Mikey knew Leo wouldn't take his toys without asking. Donatello had his own Metal Head action figure, and Mikey knew that Don would ask him first. That left-

"Raph!" Mikey screamed, "Raph! Gimme back ma toys!" Master Splinter was in his room, talking to his crystal ball. Their sensei had said that he was talking to _his_ Sensei, and that they weren't to disturb him unless it was important. Mikey went towards Splinter's door, having concluded that this was an emergency, when he saw that the door leading outside of the lair had been left ajar. Mikey walked over to it, confused. Had his family gone somewhere without him?

"Guys?" Mikey asked, poking his head out of the lair. Not getting an answer, he decided to go find them. He didn't like being alone, and he wanted some company.

TMNTNMT

"Raph?" Leo wobbled as he held on tightly to a pipe that was rocking up and down, "Come on, let go back down. Sensei vill be scared and he vill vonder vair ve are."

"I'mma gonna reach the top," Raph called down to him, "I'm the bravest and the bestest."

"Leo," whined Don, who was situated a few metres below Leonardo, "I wanna go home. 'What Monkeys Do Best' is startin' soon."

"RAPH!" screamed Leo, "YA GET YA BUTT DOWN HERE RIGH' NOW!"

"Make me," Raphael snapped. Leo growled, reaching for another pipe. It was out of his reach, so he leant forwards so he could grab hold of it. The pipe beneath Leo's feet suddenly dropped downwards, and Leonardo stumbled forwards and began to fall.

"Leo!!!" shrieked Don, the colour draining from his face. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sound of a turtle smashing into little pieces. When it didn't occur, he forced himself to look and see what had happened.

Leonardo was hanging from the end of a pipe, which had sharp metal splinters sticking out of it. His knee pad had got caught in it, and the turtle was swaying side to side as he was suspended upside down. Leo wasn't making any sound, but Don could see he was awake because his eyes were wide open. Donatello, who was lying on his stomach on a pipe, crawled forwards a few centimetres to see how far his brother had dropped, and how high they were. Donnie gulped, noticing that the ground was a fuzzy sandy colour in the distance. Leo was dangling beneath Don, but he was still a fair distance from the floor.

"Leo," Raph's face peeked from above him, pale, "Are… are ya okay?"

Leo didn't answer, paralyzed with fear. The pipe that was stopping him from falling to his death creaked forwards, and Don could see that it wouldn't be able to support his weight for much longer. The pipe was old and falling to pieces, and Don and Raph could only watch helplessly as they waited for their brother to plummet downwards.

TMNTNMT

"Michelangelo!" Splinter left his room and approached his orange masked child. He had been talking to his late Master Yoshi when he had realized that it was time for his sons to have their mid-afternoon snack. "You know you are not allowed out by yourself."

"But… Lee and Don and Raph are not here and I thinked that they were outsigh, and I was gonna go find them," Mikey explained, "I think Raph stealed ma toys and-"

"Your brothers left the lair?" Splinter exclaimed, a chill running down his spine. Mikey nodded, which made Splinter feel slightly dizzy. His sons could be anywhere… He groaned, wondering how he could have left them unsupervised. The pair quickly departed from the area, and tried to decide which way to go. Splinter suspected that they had gone to where he had found them as babies, and thought that they should go check out that place first. He started towards it, but Mikey was running in another direction.

"Michelangelo?" Splinter chased after him, confused. Mikey had heard a soft whimpering sound, and was heading towards the source of the noise. He tilted his head upwards, before screaming.

"WHERE IS MY DOTTER DOOMER TOY?!" he bawled, pointing up at the small figures who were a considerably high distance up the wall. "Ya has it, Raph, and I wanna back!"

Splinter caught up with the young turtle, and followed his gaze. He immediately saw what had happened and began leaping from pipe to pipe, reaching his sons in a matter of seconds. He wondered how they had gotten so high by themselves, but he quickly brought his attention back to the present and reached for his dangling son. As soon as he did so the pipe snapped, and Master Splinter just managed to catch him. Leo clung onto Splinter's arm tightly, trembling. Their master took hold of his two other sons, and jumped downwards and reached the ground quickly, landing next to a wide eyed Michelangelo.

"You must never, ever leave the lair without me again, understand?" Splinter scolded them.

"We won't," Raph and Don said in unison. They turned to Leonardo.

"I-I-I…" Leo mumbled, "Fall… fall… No…"

"I think Leonardo promises as well," Splinter said, before walking towards the lair. On arrival, he gave Don and Raph a cup of hot chocolate and settled them in front of the TV. Master Splinter put Leonardo to bed, who was still shaking and unable to form a proper sentence. Exhausted, Splinter seated himself on an armchair, Mikey positioned on his laps.

"Dadda…" Mikey looked up at his father with wide eyes, "I was scared."

"I was as well," Splinter agreed. He smiled at his son, his eyes twinkling, "I am very glad that you told me where your brothers were, and I am so very very thankful that you led me to them. If I had been there one second later… Well! I don't know what I would do. I am so proud of you, my son. And to think, your brothers wanted to get rid of you this morning."

"What that, dadda?"

"Err…" Splinter patted his son's head fondly, "I will tell you another time."

* * *

**And now we know why Leo was afraid of heights for a while (my version, of course xD). So yeah, this had meant to be a one-shot, but I forgot to put it in complete mode and it was alerted. :) So yeah, extra chapter ftw. But now it's finished. **


End file.
